Compassion

-Supporting organizations who are fighting for social justice and equity within the City of Peterborough.

-Focus on housing, addiction and food security..

Passion

-Supporting organizations who are stewards of our wild places and/or developing opportunities for self-powered recreation within the County of Peterborough.

-Focus on land preservation, trail building, access and alternative urban transportation.

An endowment fund is typically an invested pool of money that is meant to be a longterm, predictable source of income for a charitable organization. Rather than spending this capital investment, the endowment fund grants to the charity or charities from the annual investment income from the fund. There are strict government rules about the function of endowment funds in order to ensure that they are used solely to support charitable organizations.

The Wild Rock ComPassion Project is an expression of our belief that the collective power of our business and our customers can help to make Peterborough and the surrounding area better for everyone.

Wild Rock is volunteering staff time, administrative costs and the use of our marketing platforms and budget with the goal of educating and engaging a greater number of Peterborough residents in issues that we believe in.

Furthering our belief that a healthy business can only operate in a healthy community, the ComPassion Project is Wild Rock’s commitment to doing everything that a small business can do to ensure the health of its community.

All donations go into the ComPassion Project Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough. Grants will then be made from the fund as per the direction of the ComPassion Project managers. At no time will Wild Rock Outfitters hold or use any donated funds. Ever! In fact, it would not only be illegal but with all funds controlled by the Community Foundation it would be logistically impossible for Wild Rock Outfitters to access donated funds.

In addition, in order to offer immediate support to our community while also ensuring that the Wild Rock ComPassion Project has a lasting impact we are balancing our raised funds into both an endowment fund as well as keeping a significant share aside for immediate granting. This balance may change over time as the needs of our community change.

The ComPassion Project relies on the services of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough to ensure both compliance with federal regulation as well as transparency.

CanadaHelps is the most secure way to ensure that any donation that a Canadian makes is directed where the money is supposed to go. They offer secure payment options and tax receipt capacity while ensuring donor privacy. CanadaHelps is partnered with community foundations and charities both big and small across the whole country. Together with the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, they will ensure that money raised by the ComPassion Project can be put to work as quickly as possible

The Wild Rock ComPassion Project operates under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough.  The CFGP has actively supported Peterborough since its inception in 2009, distributing over $6M as well as establishing a significant endowment fund.  

The CFGP specializes in “donor-directed funds” which means that we have full control over how the money that we raise is distributed.  What they offer us is the most well-informed advice in the city paired up with logistical support for collecting donations, managing investment and issuing tax receipts. 

In its first years, a significant portion of the funds raised by the Wild Rock ComPassion Project will be redistributed to our partners in need as quickly as possible while the balance of the funds will be held in an endowment.  

Our goal for the ComPassion Project is to ensure that as much of each donation as possible ends up in the hands of our Partner Organizations. Unfortunately, there are costs to processing payments that are layered into almost everything that we do in our modern world. The good part is that each one of us can take some control over these costs.

Below we break down the costs as clearly as possible. The only cost that is absolutely fixed is that the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough charges us 2% for managing our fund, which is a tiny amount of money considering the amazing work that they do. So, to answer the FAQ clearly, the minimum administration fee is 2%. Beyond that, the way in which a donation is made will determine the administration cost, which will be somewhere between 2% and 11%.* Making a donation using the CanadaHelps "Donate" button has a cost, using our in-store TipTap machine has a cost and using a credit card can have a significant cost. Ultimately, every donation helps but if you would like to maximize the impact of your donation then the best thing you can do is to drop off a check in person. And hey, that means we get to say thanks in person!

*Did you know that "rewards" credit cards charge the payment recipient more than basic cards? Some Visa rewards cards charge up to 5% when you are paying for goods and services or making a donation! You can minimize that impact by paying with debit, check or cash.

Additionally, if you are in the store and would like to use our TipTap machine to make a small donation then your debit card (which costs us only 5.5 cents to process) is a better option than your credit card, which takes a percentage. It is all in the details!